Tale as old as Time
by ValeSwiss94
Summary: Growing up was never meant to be this difficult. Love. Heartbreak. Loss. An unexpected twist. And you're in the middle of the storm, lost and alone, thinking everything is over. But eventually, you will discover, life is just a tale as old as time.
1. The sharpest lives

**Disclaimer: I do not own Nick or any of these characters.**

**PCA - Senior Year**

**Zoey POV**

23:25 o' clock, sharp. PCA was quiet. No students around partying, having fun or just spending time together. Well, that would make a good Monday, but today was Friday. Friday night, in a school full of teenagers. Something seemed wrong in the picture, huh?

But then, if you listened closely, you could hear it: the far sound of music, glasses filled with liquor crashing into each other, the smell of cigarette smoke, people dancing and dancing as if there was no tomorrow. But where was that coming from?

"You know?" Michael spoke out, making a jet of beer to drop onto the fancy carpet, "If I could wish for something, I'd only ask for one thing in the world" Logan just gave Michael a cold stare and took the drink from his shaking hand.

"Dude, I don't freaking care about your stupid dreams. And don't you dare ruin my carpet. Too expensive to mess it with this cheap nectar, or your, well..."

Michael shrugged. He raised his hand, waved it around carelessly and then punched Logan on the back of his neck.

"Ow, Dude!"

I think we all rolled eyes, except for Lola who let out a small giggle, clear product of the drink she was holding, which was dangling dangerously from her hand.

I took it from her, just to be careful. She had already drunk too much anyways.

"Huh, Zoey… you're such a killjoy." Michael replied with a great noticeable monotonous tone.

"I'm just making sure she won't lose control again. Don't want to remember the last time she woke up over the poker table, no need to tell the details."  
Logan burst into laughing.

"Totally hot"

I just glared at him. Sure, Lola might have been appealing in that situation. But for God's sakes, it was Lola he was talking about. Not even a little respect?

"That was totally not for you to see" Lola added. Obviously she couldn't help but add a giggle at the end of the sentence.

"Well, I can say, you've got nothing to be ashamed of" Logan replied with a cocky smile. Wait, when did the flirting begin?  
Lola just smiled like an idiot. God, she was so drunk. Fortunately, she and Michael were the only ones drunk right now. Quinn had called out, saying she needed to urgently fix something about a mutating banana in her room. Never going in there again, I swear. Logan was tipsy, but he was surely used to drinking - he was the host of a party almost every week. And then, there was Chase. Sitting next to me, a beer in his hand, still sober: it was probably still the first of the evening. He looked kind of bummed, probably just like me. I felt my eyes closing slowly, and the beanbag I sat in suddenly felt oh so comfortable...

"Hey, Zoe, time to go to bed"

Someone was stroking my cheek lightly, as I woke up a little later. Chase was looking at me, offering me a hand to get me off the floor. Crap, I must have fallen asleep. I got up, and followed everyone out of the building. Quinn was there too. I noticed other PCA students were still partying, but I followed the girls out and back to our dorm.

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**No one's POV**

"So… Girl talk!" Lola said excitedly after getting to our lounge. She was still drunk. It was already past curfew, and Zoey was passing out asleep again, not really hearing what the girls were talking about. It was always the same: guys, guys, guys and oh! Guys. She knew this conversation wasn't an exception. This was going to turn into another Deja vú.

"Oh yeah, Lola, I heard Jake from history class asked out on a date!" Quinn asked, making Lola turn deep crimson. Bingo.

"Jake is a nice guy!" She responded. Zoey lifted her head off her hand just to watch how embarrassed Lola was.

"Uh-huh? I also think he's really hot" Another girl said. Zoey merely rolled her eyes. She just sometimes wasn't able to stand their foolishness. They could be so stupidly girly sometimes…

Another hour of simply raving passed, and everyone started getting up and going to bed. Zoey was tired, and by this time, lost again in her little Zoey Wonderland. Just making a tour through her thoughts, even though it was a jungle in there. It seemed like the constant raving and giggling about hot guys had caught her too, because very in the inside, she was having those thoughts… Dark, dirty thoughts as someone could just label them. I mean… how would it felt to be under a hot body, being touched in places she could only imagine…? And who could be the one actually? No. Nobody knew her body but her. Thinking of these things, the only thing she could see was a big dark blur. By the time she got to think about sex, she got lost. And angry. Of course she knew the process, she had been taught of it in ninth grade, but she had never, well... "experienced" it.

She didn't know what to think about herself. Everyone had thoughts about her like Miss Perfection, but well, Miss Perfection was a virgin. Which in some people's eyes was something good, but to her, it was just irritating. She was used to be great in school, normally knowing more things than an average person of her age, but when it came to this, she knew nothing.

Sick and tired of that entire blur she got up, making up some excuse of wanting to go to bed. It wasn't a big lie. She was actually feeling tired, so she grabbed her octopus fluffy-toy and started walking towards room 101. Suddenly, seconds later, she felt steps walking towards her. She knew who they were.

They reached their room and Zoey unclasped her pink flowered key from her necklace to open the door, remaining silent. It was better to stay in silence than hearing another discussion about guys. So, as she entered her room, she quickly flopped down onto her bed, trying to get rid of the mix of thoughts on her mind. Lola and Quinn followed her. Quinn also climbed into bed, but Lola sat down in a bean bag in the middle of the room, with a worried look on her face.

"Lola, is something wrong?" Zoey asked, concerned. Lola looked up, her cheeks turning red.

"Can I confess you guys something?" She asked. Quinn immediately got up and sat down on the couch, nodding eagerly.

"I'm kind of scared of going on a date with Jake" she said. Zoey exchanged a confused glance with Quinn before turning to her friend again. Of course she was going to listen, but in some way, she'd rather just fall sleep.

"Why?" Quinn seemed to have a huge interest in this. It wasn't odd. Zoey knew her since eighth grade, and even though she was from the start a genius and a geek, she had always had that "Go ahead" look and excited smile when it came to guys. It reminded her of Nicole's behavior.

"I don't know if I'm ready for a new relationship already… you know, after Vince" she confessed. Lola and Vince had decided to remain "just friends" after a huge fight, which just didn't work at all. Vince was like oil when Lola was like water. Did that make a good match? Not in a girl's view.

"Especially because… me and Vince… used to… you know" she resembled a human-shaped tomato by now. Zoey's heart skipped a beat by hearing the way Lola said "You know"; it was as if her internal jungle was making a chaos in her mind.

"Used to… what?" Lola looked up, looking at both her friends. Zoey looked up to Quinn, searching for some kind of help as she saw the knowing look she was having all over her face. Those feelings of misunderstanding weren't welcome to her.

"Well… he was my first and… I don't really know if it will work for me and Jake, you now, trusting him to that" at that, Quinn smiled happily, while Zoey's mind zoomed away. She just couldn't get what Lola just said. And then it hit her. Lola wasn't a virgin and it wasn't as if she did it just once. "Vince and I used to… you know"; it was like a torrent of water slamming against her face. She had always played the role of the mother, even though they didn't ask her to be, but still… she was, and it was like discovering that your kid had been having sex around campus.  
Quinn got up to sit beneath Lola.

"Oh, Lola, there will be no problem. Jake is a nice guy." she reassured her. Lola seemed to receive gladly her advice, but still wasn't really convinced. "I think you should go out with him, and then figure out if you really want to trust him to that; it's all about you, Lola, it's not like you have to go on a pair of dates with him and then just sell your body as a faithful prize. It's your decision." Lola smiled slightly nodding her head, no words coming out of her mouth. Quinn continued her speech.

"When I broke up with Logan, I also thought it wouldn't be the same, but when I started going out with Paul…"

"But that was just to make Logan jealous, it's not the same!" Lola interrupted her. Zoey could not hear anymore. Now she knew two secrets she never meant to know. And it suddenly made her feel alone. Like the only one left.

"What about you, Zoe? You never said anything about your first to us" Lola turned to her.

"I… I think I'm tired, I'm just going to brush my teeth and go to bed" and with that she stormed out, letting Lola and Quinn confused on the couch.  
How would they react by hearing Zoey saying the words "I am a virgin"? Maybe they would just burst into laughing and fall onto the floor, holding their stomachs tightly.

Zoey spent a lot of time in the bathroom, thinking about all the things she could do. Maybe she could, just maybe, tell them, but that sent her to her first hypothesis. Well, they were good at listening, but it still wasn't a good choice. It was also going to be difficult that they believed her, because if you saw Zoey Brooks, would you think she's still a virgin? I don't think so. She also thought about making a story up, but it wouldn't be that easy.

Knowing Lola and Quinn, they'd insist with their silly questions about "So, how was it?" "Did it hurt?" "Was he good at it?" "Was the guy hot?" or "are you still in touch with him?" no. She wouldn't be able to stand that. They'd surely notice she was lying too, so she dumped that choice. What if…? Well, she could live trying to ignore their blabbing… right? She was gifted with a never-ending patience…. No, that wasn't a good idea. Because at the age of 17, Zoey knew a lot of things. She knew how to solve complicated math equations, how to say a few words in Spanish, and many other things other guys and girls her age couldn't quite reach. And now, she'd figure out how to solve this big deal.

She looked into the mirror, after washing off all of her make-up, and remembered the many times Logan spoke about his make-out sessions with random girls. Of course she knew Logan was an asshole, and she didn't even think for a second of him being a virgin too. He was probably the baby daddy of many pregnant girls around campus. Michael didn't seem to be that innocent either. She had seen him having heavy make-out sessions with Lisa, sometimes with her on his lap during lunch… Well, now she was feeling sick. She always thought, since the beginning that it would be worth waiting for the right guy, to have her very first time, but the "right guy" wasn't coming. Well, who cares if all of her friends were sexually experienced? It wasn't as if she had to do it just because they already did it… Well, not really. She didn't like to be the loser… Gosh, this was killing her. By now she knew that she'd be willing to do anything. Anything… to avoid being the last one. But, she was lost.

She sighed, infuriated, and started walking all around the bathroom, nearly reaching the cubicle's doors. She was feeling stupid and useless. And there wasn't anything she could do to beat it... Logan would probably piss her off the rest of her life, and Michael would be gladly joining him. Lola and Quinn would surely shut their mouths to their crappy sexual gathering as seeing her entering to the room. And Chase would probably rather not talk about it. Well, not that bad. A whole life being everyone's joke. Lovely. Ok, not really everyone. She sighed again, louder and lacking of patience.

And then, suddenly she felt as an idiot. As if someone had just slapped her on her right cheek and that little light bulb had just appeared. It was a crazy, pointless idea. But it felt as good as drinking coffee that she couldn't help but think about it the whole night even though it was so out of mind that she shivered just to think about it. "You're mad, Zoey. Completely mad."

**Whaaaaat's up people! I'm back! **

**I hope you liked the first chapter of this story.****And don't worry, there's more coming ;)**

**I truly think this is the best work I have done yet. **

**A big shoutout and thanks to IsabellaGranger12, who cowrote the story with me. ****You definitely should check her profile out.**

**So... I don't know what to say! **

**Please review and tell me what you think! **

**Thank you so much for checking the story out... and see you in the next chapter! **


	2. Give me love

**Zoey POV**  
Last night turned out to be pretty worrying. I came back to my room after my whole change of mind and I found with a whole surprise that Quinn and Lola were already asleep. It surely was pretty late. My eyes were opened widely, but not because of the tiredness. I couldn't believe I actually made up my mind like this and I could barely sleep that night. Guess it's all I wanted. At least I had to give it a try… right?

My concern seemed to give me a several charge of energy as I woke up, because my body was literally begging to jump out of bed and do something. Anything. Hyperactivity, I guess. So I listened and did everything even though it was only Saturday morning. I rapidly got changed with the first outfit I thought of, which happened to be one on the very top of my drawer. I was full of energy that day, which was odd considering it was caused by concern. This was weird. How was I actually supposed to make my goal true? I wasn't even feeling able to swallow food. Crap. But I was doing it. He was my friend, I could trust him. The idea wasn't that bad after all… In fact, he always helped me and vice versa. And now… why would I be scared to talk to him? We've never even touched the topic, and I know he'd turn into an alive tomato by just hearing it. But enough of that.

"Chase?" I spent at least ten minutes standing behind the 148 Maxwell Hall dorm door deciding whether to knock or simply turn around and leave. I didn't want to get rejected. Beating my feet against the floor, I started getting impatient. Was anyone going to open the door? For some reason I hesitated about knocking again. And I would've turned around if Michael wouldn't have appeared in front of me a second later.

"Hey Zoey." He greeted me lifting up his soccer ball as it was in his hand. I smiled in response even though I was biting my nerves off. "Are you looking for Chase? Because he's not here."

"He's not in there?" I peeked my head inside their dorm and I could catch Logan playing Need For Speed 4. Yeah, Chase wasn't in there. If he were, he'd be sitting right next to Logan, beating him over and over again, and Logan would be nearly bawling his eyes off. I couldn't help but smile at that statement. "Well, then, where is he?"

Michael seemed to think several minutes about it. His "thinking sounds" were driving me nuts. I couldn't hate anything more than 'mmhhh'.

"I think he said something about taking some fresh air. You know, "I'm working on a new project, and I can't get focused with all this noise." Michael imitated Chase's voice in a little higher tone. "He's turning into a divo" he added. I giggled and thanked him. I knew the exact place he was.

I walked down the grass towards the lake. Chase could be so predictable sometimes. His bushy hair could be seen from far away. He was sitting on a rock, and again it reminded me of my first year at PCA, right after the whole dance thing. I couldn't believe it had been four years since then… I still didn't really get why he wanted to get matched with me by the way. His excuse sounded so corny, and yet, so tender… Well, getting back to earth, he was there, sitting with his laptop on his lap, the sound of the bouncing keys echoing all the area.

"Hey Zoe" he said as I sat beside him on the rock, his eyes still focused into the screen.

"Hey" I said back. My nerves were struggling and I felt myself lacking of words.

"Chase, can I ask you something?" I began. His eyes looked up. This was making me even more nervous. "I need a favor. A really big one. I don't even know how to ask you…" He turned his body more towards me and lightly touched my arm. It gave me chills.

"Anything, Zoe." Anything? I stopped the eye contact with him by a moment. I could feel my cheeks getting red so I wasn't able to look at him anymore.

"I…" Chase looked at me curiously. I couldn't even find the right words to right tell him right now.

"What is it? Look at me"

"Did you… already… make love to a girl, Chase?" Oh. My. God. Did I actually ask so? My heart was beating like a bomb about to explode. Plus, the time he was taking to answer was making me feel like an idiot. I hated that feeling.

"No" he simply answered. No? Gosh, I felt as settled free. A ton of actions wanted to get out of my body. Sighs of relief, smiling with joy, lifting my head up with surprise…I think I did everything at the very same time.

"Why?" he asked. His eyebrow came up, turning his question in some way more serious than before. My heart skipped a beat again. Why did it have to be that hard? He was my best friend… I had shared tons of moments with him; even just staying silent beneath each other felt good, in fact, we usually didn't need to say anything. Just a look, and we knew what we both were thinking. And it was always like that: why was this time making an exception?

"Because it seems everyone already did, and I feel like an idiot being the only one who didn't, I was starting to think something was wrong in me…" I was feeling stupid, I usually know the right words in the right moment. Chase resembled a very quiet rock. Was he even blinking?

"I'm sick of everyone talking about that, and me feeling like a baby. I just want to get over with it" I added to my long going-nowhere speech. He was still stiff. I started to doubt he was even alive. My eyes were still in touch with his, and just the second I thought about putting my hand into his chest, he came back to live. I sighed deeply in the moment I saw him blink, twice. And again. He was clearly confused.

"What are you trying to tell me?"  
I sighed again. Trying to not go way too fast with my cold bucket.

"I think I found the right guy" I said. "I'm sure he's the only one I will never regret it with"

"oh" he just said. A moment of silence passed, and he seemed mentally debating on what to say. "So who is this great guy?" He finally asked. I noticed something was wrong with his voice. As if something was really bothering him. Weird. Even though sometimes he thought he wasn't the best when it came to words, I knew he was a talented writer. In this case, I was the one who was thinking too hard. Again, I sighed and I felt my eyes closed the second later.

"Chase, will you make love with me?" I heard myself asking, way too fast in addition. His silence was a clear proof to me. He heard me. 'No turning back, Zoey, no turning back.'

"What?" Wow. This was unbelievable.

"I know it sounds crazy, but… I'm so scared about it, and you're the only guy I trust that much. And I'm sure, I would never regret it. " I dared to make eye contact with him. I didn't know why, but his eyes were brighter. It was kind of cute. Wait, what the hell? I just sounded like Nicole.

"Zoey…" he began, clearly embarrassed. Crap, I knew this wasn't a good idea.

"Never mind, Chase. It was dumb of me to ask" I tried to move out, but as I felt my legs standing, a hand grasped my arm. He made me sit down, beside him, again. I didn't dare to open my mouth.

"Let me explain, Zoe. I… I would do anything for you. But I think you deserve a better first than me... no, let me finish" he said as he saw my jaw opening.

"Making love with you… it's something every single guy here at PCA has thought of at least once. It would be… more than wonderful, but… I don't trust myself to do it, Zoe. What if I hurt you? What if something happens and I…" I immediately stopped his babbling resting a hand on his mouth.

"Chase… It's ok if you don't want to. I just… I'm not thinking you're the less worse person to do it. I think you're the best, and also if I had a boyfriend, I would think it this way. It would be just one night, nothing else…" Chase looked at me. And I felt like if I was in tenth grade again, about to dance the macalana in front of a huge crowd, being "bullied" by that brunette bitch. About to tell the world the most embarrassing secret from my childhood. And now, almost two years later, it was even more awkward. Yeah, I was sitting next to Chase, my very best friend from eight grade to now, senior year.

My clumsy, tender, lovely bushy-haired bud which turned into my male twin, almost. Wouldn't it be feeling wrong then? All I knew is that my long speech had no lie. Every single word was pure truth. But despite all that, I was still feeling so helpless there, asking my best guy friend to take me to bed. And I had my reasons to; his mouth making no movement was a reliable proof of his obvious rejection. I knew it. This got to be the suckiest idea that even passed through my mind. And it was still making me ache. The last thing I'd ever thought would be being turned down by my best friend in the whole world. I was about to get up again, sick of his silence, but then I heard his soft voice, whispering. I always loved it.

"Okay" He finally said. He'd got to be kidding me. My heart skipped a beat, making me wonder if it was about to burst out of my chest. Oh my God. He said yes.

"Thank you, Chase, so much" I couldn't help but smile as I hugged him tight and my lips almost lose control and attempted to bite his cheek. This was only the beginning. Thank God Chase decided to crash his bike into that flagpole. At the end of the day… I would be nothing without him. It was a fact.

**A few Days Later**

Quinn and Lola went to the Basketball court to watch Michael and Logan shoot some hoops before the big game, which was in a city not far from PCA. Still, Lola had packed a whole suitcase for just a night out.. I would have gone too, but I was already busy. I had… plans for tonight. Special ones. I was digging inside my wardrobe, trying to find some proper clothes. I didn't know why but I had the odd need of wanting him to desire me. And I knew the perfect way to make that true.

"Ha!" I got out my closet with the perfect outfit in hands. It was simply flawless. Tonight I would wow him until he would start to drool. I took off my PCA sweatshirt and put on a pink tank top with a very plunging neckline. Followed by a very short white skirt. I'd say it was from my freshmen year. I stood in front of the full-body mirror we had in our dorm room. Lola's idea. She seemed to need it like oxygen, so we just had one. But despite to my initial worrying about getting a mini fridge instead of the big one again I had to admit it was a pretty good idea.

I sat my eyes onto that thing, looking at myself with my other me and… Wow. I didn't want to sound obnoxious as Logan, but I looked just perfect. My make-up wasn't too dark, just mascara and a dark eyeliner which made my eyes look brighter and also bigger. Something Chase would never resist to.

Ha, this was just great. I couldn't help but laugh picturing Chase's speechless face, standing in the threshold, roses in hand? Wow, I'm sure that was a pretty weird random thought. Anyways… I looked into my right hand watch. 19:57 pm. Three minutes left. He's probably about to arrive. I ran up to the drawer and got off a box of candles and a CD. This had to be my perfect night, and this was most definitely required. I had watched lots of movies and I knew for sure that when it came to an arranged night of romance, this was essential. The CD was actually a Céline Dion CD. Quinn's. She was the corniest one in this room, which I found kinda… interesting, considering she's a nerd freak. Others would think she's only into science, but sharing a room with her for two years makes you change your mind. I usually didn't like this type of music, but for this occasion… Well, it would work. I sat on my bed, trying to calm myself down. My heart began to beat as a locomotive as I started to hear the sound of steps near my dorm. Should I open the door?

I lifted my hand, right up to my mouth. I couldn't help but start biting my nails. It was the only way to kill my nerves, even though it was an awful habit. I looked into my clock, again. 20:02. Well, I'm waiting. 20:10. He maybe just had a mishap… An awful one. I stood in front of the mirror and took my mascara off my pocket. Just to slide it on my eyelashes, you know, make them look longer and prettier… Irresistible. I sighed, putting the mascara back on my night table. 20:20. Gosh, this was unbelievable, why was he delaying so long? Maybe he had just decided to stand me up, I mean, he wasn't really convinced with the idea and well… he had the right to. He was a good listener, he always listened and managed to understand my every feeling. But this… Let's just say it out straight. I was asking him to fuck me. Which made things even more strange: he was a guy, right? Didn't guys normally want just that, out of a relationship? Maybe he was gay. Or maybe he just cared too much, and didn't want to shatter our friendship to pieces... which was reasonable. And sweet. I felt like an idiot.

I sucked. I understood him, I sucked so bad. I mean… look at me, I got so smart just to be stood up by my best friend, who clearly thought this was a terrible idea. I could picture him now, lying down on the couch, chocking from laughter with pop corn, watching his silly Saturday Night Live…

But then, a tiny sound could be heard against the door. Was that a knock? My heart skipped a beat. I could've misheard. Maybe it was just my imagination. But I saw a little shadow under the door, and my heart felt like a bomb about to explode. Oh, my God, what if it wasn't him? I had to open the door to find out, anyway. I breathed in and out, slowly, feeling my legs making no movement as I heard the knocking again. This wasn't only my imagination.

I could've passed out the floor. I could've just screamed at him because he stood me up, and had me waiting all this time, but no, I just couldn't do that. I couldn't help but be myself and open the door.

And there he was, dressed up with a green shirt and dark blue jeans, smiling shyly and showing apology. Oh, God, why did he have to be that cute? It was as if he read my mind while being three buildings away from me, 'cause I actually thought I was dreaming. This was almost the same picture that had formed inside me. Did that mean something? Chase, standing in the threshold, no roses in hand, but pink lilies. My favorites. I couldn't help but smile. Whatever took him out of time to delay that long, he was forgiven. Completely forgiven.


	3. WARNING! RATING M

**WARNING:**

**This chapter is rated MA and contains some **

**MAJOR ADULT THEMES AND LANGUAGE.**

**Please do not read if you are not 18 or older.**

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"Sorry about the delay, Zoe, but I thought it could have been a good idea getting you these" He handed me the lilies and I noticed a red shade on his cheeks. Chase was always so shy when it came to romance, but I always found it a very lovable characteristic. I just loved when he acted so… Chase.

"They're wonderful, Chase."

Chase shook his head.

"You're wonderful." He whispered. How the hell did he manage to make me shiver, blush and sigh at the same time? I moved aside to let him in, and turned around to smile. I had to admit that… since the beginning, Chase and I acted somehow flirty towards each other, but this was making me feel different. I took a vase and put the flowers in it. I liked them, resting next to the candles on the table. It changed the ambient.

I turned round to find Chase inches away from me. His eyes were locked onto mine, and I couldn't help but love their green shade. As if they were complementing the comfortable silence prowling in the air. Then, he suddenly killed the inches between us and took my hands in his kissing me lightly on the neck. It was almost instantaneous; I closed my eyes, enjoying the kiss, and shivering lightly.

"Are you still sure about it?" He whispered in my ear with an incredibly soft voice. I just nodded my head without opening my eyes.

Seconds later, he was lightly moving me towards the bed. I started to run my hands up his body, and it felt incredibly… good. I was liking the way he touched me way too much, it was like a zillion of angel's wings brushing my stomach walls… I could've started throwing up butterflies in that moment.

His hands wandered under my shirt. I aped him as I went with my hands under his shirt too, and he stopped briefly to take it off completely. Then he just stepped forward, placing a kiss on my forehead, as he slipped my tank top off. He looked at me seductively, almost leaning forward onto me. This was the last straw. My hands raced to the buckle of his jeans to unfasten them.  
15 minutes later, we were on my bed embraced under the cover, our clothes scattered across the room. I felt it difficult, forcing my mouth not to come together with his. Rules were rules… this was a game with evil ones. Well, actually it was just two. No kisses on the mouth, and he would be gone in the morning. I never thought I would be desperately wanting to feel his lips against mine, but as much as I wanted to, I couldn't break the damn rules I had set.

Chase was tracing a trail of kisses down my jaw, got to the shoulder, and didn't stop like he did before. He went down, curving over my breasts, going further down. He reached my belly button, and still didn't stop. I closed my eyes, and entangled my hands in his curly hair as he kissed my inner thighs. God, it was delicious. He suddenly stopped, one second later, and I felt him look up to me as if he was seeking permission. I just nodded, not opening my eyes. I think I wasn't even able to do that. And then, I felt his lips against my clit, making me nearly buck off the bed. It just felt so good, I began to entering 'The Danger Zone' as he pressed his head harder against my crotch. I placed a hand on his back caressing him. I wanted to touch him.

He was still on his 'work', making me feel so dirty but at the same time so… pleasured. He was doing sinful things to me… was this really _just_ foreplay? It was feeling like being in Heaven, but I suddenly fell back to Earth again. Chase wasn't kissing me anymore.

"Something wrong?" I asked opening my eyes again after five minutes. He shook his head, and I felt him sliding his fingers out of me, kissing me sweetly on the cheek. I hadn't even noticed he slid them in. I decided then, that this wasn't right. I certainly didn't have to be the only one who got pleasure out of this. At the end of the day, he was doing me a huge favor and if he could take me to Heaven, I would take him with me. I rolled him over, so that I was on top, and started kissing down his chest, but he stopped me as I reached to his belly button. I looked up at him and he just kissed my nose.

"You don't have to do that" He whispered.

"I want to, it wouldn't be fair" I whispered back. But he shook his head, and cuddled me again. He was really warm, and despite his body wasn't as ripped as... Logan's for example, he had a very soft set of muscles. I would say it was even better.

After some time, I looked down at him, rolling us over again.

"Wait, I'll get a condom" he said, and reached down to his pants on the floor and pulled out one. I took it in my hands and studied it.

"Size M, ribbed?" I questioned.

"I heard… they are… more enjoyable for you" I couldn't hide the smile which was begging to get out of my face. The fact that he even took the bother to find the way to make me enjoy even more our night, was simply amazing. Even in this situation, he managed to be a self-made gentleman. That's what I loved the most about him. Wait, loved? Liked. Auto-correcting myself. He took the condom from my hands and placed it on him. I had to help him a bit, because his hands were trembling pretty hard. Once we finished with that, there was only one question left:

"You sure you're ready Zoe?"  
I nodded with a huge smile in my face. There was no doubt, Chase.

"I'm sure"

One second later he began pushing himself inside of me. Just the head, then he stopped. The pain I was feeling was indescribable. It was like a tiny dagger getting inner and inner…

Chase noticed my face, but I wasn't only in a hole of pain. It was actually a mixture of pain and pleasure, but the pleasure was winning over the pain every second that passed. So I gathered all my guts and nodded him to go. As he was in completely, he stopped, letting me adjust to him. I opened my eyes, held him closer and started to move. He did too, very slowly, and it was feeling incredible. I couldn't help but moan one second later.

Half an hour later I was laying on his chest, his arm draped over me in a protective way. I was feeling slightly sore, but it was okay. He was caressing me side and watching me, probably thinking and replaying the last hour we had together. I was full of happiness, it was simple as that. I was feeling so protected in his arms, like nothing could wreck this moment. I shifted to look up at him, and smiled a bit. He smiled back, and placed a kiss on my shoulder.

"Thank you" I said, trying to get his thoughts in that moment.

"No need to thank. It was a… pleasure?" I giggled playing with his hand. He was always so innocent, but this time… this time was different. Now we were a man and woman, wrapped into each other's arms aware of the fact we had just lost our virginity to each other.

"It sure was" I said sweetly, and I guess it cost all of Chase's willpower not to kiss me then and there because he seemed to be containing himself.

Instead he took my hand in his and watched me pulling myself up to his height. I kissed his neck, not knowing why, but I liked it. Was I cuddling with my best friend? It should have felt so… so _wrong_, Chase was like my brother. But if I ever felt like that kissing Dustin, I would be put in jail. The feeling of our naked bodies pressed together was indescribable, and was driving both of us crazy. My breasts were firmly pressed against his chest, my legs straddling his. Our cuddling got more and more intense, until Chase suddenly stopped. I looked at him, afraid he would reject me. But he was smiling that goofy smile of his, just for me, and I just couldn't contain myself anymore. I pulled myself up and gave him a kiss on the mouth.

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** Aaand that was the third chapter. Still more to come, don't worry! I'll try to upload a new chapter every week or so.**

**I hoped you liked it, and if you did, please rate & leave me a review!**

**Next chapter will be rated M too, just to warn you.**

**Have a good day!**

**~ValeSwiss94~**


	4. WARNING! RATING M (Again)

**WARNING:**

**This chapter is rated MA and contains some**

**MAJOR ADULT THEMES AND LANGUAGE.**

**Please do not read if you are not 18 or older.**

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**Chase's POV**

She was kissing me. Dear God, _Zoey Brooks_ was _kissing_ me! Not in a friendly way, not a simple cuddle, not a peck. She was definitely kissing me on the mouth, and I could only kiss back. She was lightly biting my lower lip, and as I felt her tongue asking for access, I almost fainted. I opened my mouth, and, God, I was home. We were most definitely making out by now, and I still couldn't really get it. All I knew was that after a while she shifted slightly to reach down and touch me, and I moaned into her mouth, my hand also going down her body to her very center. I was ready the second she touched me, and she was equally ready a few moments after. Zoey got on top of me and lowered herself slowly on me, taking me inside her.

And there we were, making love for the second time that night, only this time _for real_. Our mouths were together, our bodies moving in a slow, sensitive pace. It was totally different than the first time. We didn't have to worry about anything, the only thing that mattered was us. I was loving every second of this passion, whispering into her ear that she was way better than me on top. She giggled lightly at that, her hands in my hair, and I smiled brightly as she told me I gave her butterflies. I simply continued whispering in her ear, how beautiful she was, how a great kisser she was, how perfect she was, and finally, how much

I loved her. Thanks to passion. I finally did it. And my heart skipped a beat hearing her whispering back:

"I love you too."

Our bodies seemed to melt together for an instant. Our pace quickened, and Zoey began breathing heavier. I knew she was close, just as much as me. Just a few more movements and she kissed me so deeply, it brought me to the edge. She moaned in my mouth, and we both cried out our names as we came. Our movements got slower, until we finally stopped. We were looking at each other, trying to catch our breath. I opened my mouth as to say something, but she stopped me by kissing me again. After a while, we just drifted off to sleep.

**Zoey's POV**

Light. I felt intense light strike my face, and groaned as I realized it was already morning. I turned in my pink bed to avoid contact with the sun, with no results, so I slowly opened my early morning eyes, keeping them half-closed due to the intense brightness. I pulled myself up, feeling cold as I exited the covers with my upper body. As I realized I was still naked, last night came to my mind.

Oh God… I swear, I wouldn't ever have thought it could be that…_ amazing. _Resting my head on his chest, he made me feel so female and so… loved.

I remembered how we both were freaking out at first, the shyness we were sharing, how fast my heart was racing as I felt his hands touching my bare body, the hard adrenalin while feeling his heavy breathing against my neck, the feeling of that bright light and my hands chafing the sky as we both reached our climax…

I turned around, expecting my bed to be occupied by one Chase Matthews, but there was no one. I bit my lower lip in to hold what I knew was coming next. My clothes were sitting on the edge of my bed, neatly folded. He surely settled them all by himself this morning when he decided to leave. I shifted my head off the pillow again, letting me down to the fact that there was no letters. But as I reached my arm to the other side of the bed, where the trace of his sleep was still flagrant, I felt a cold waterdrop. I lifted the sheets off the bed and what would be my surprise to see a small pink lilie trembling with cold under the cover. My heart skipped a beat. And then, it hit me.

"_I love you, Zoey"_ the famous last words he spoke, replaying all over in my mind. Again and again. Why couldn't I shut my brain? A tear was making its way down my cheek, carrying everything I've been feeling since so long ago. How could I be such a fool? How could I not see something more than friendly long stares in his eyes? How could I not notice that? But it was worse. How could I not notice _I_ was in love with him too? Chase loved me. And I loved him. Sounds stupid, huh? We've been friends for four years and we knew each other better than we knew ourselves. But we never came to the realization that we could've been feeling more than friendship; even though I heard tons of times comments from other people like "When's the wedding?" or "Hurry up, hand me a piece of paper and a pen, I need an authograph 'cause

I've always loved Jack and Rose!" counting out the tons of times I heard Lola, Quinn, Nicole and Dana telling me how much he liked me. I never believed them, of course. What a fool. But if he loved me that much… then why would he leave that fast? Last night events were way too much. In one night, I realized that certainly he was amazing, when he wanted to, that he loved me (and I loved him) and most importantly, that I needed him by my side. Maybe forever. But he wasn't there. Another tear was rolling down my cheek and I couldn't do anything to stop it. I didn't want to either. I never thought I would be needing someone that much, just to have him right next to me, staring at me with those eyes… to feel loved. But the spot next to me was completely empty. I wiped my tears away trying to breath to hold the next coming ones. Wait, what I was doing? It was obvious he would be gone. _I _had asked him to be gone in the morning. Again, what an idiot. I surely thought it would be better that way, to save the awkwardeness, but it sounded so stupid now.

Just as I was getting out of bed, the door flew open and Lola and Quinn bursted in. I immediately jumped back into bed, covering myself under the covers. There was no way I was letting them know about what happened between he and I.

"…I completely don't understand why they canceled the game. It was just a bit of rain!" Lola was saying.

"Just a bit of rain? Did you not see the 3 inches of water on the ground? The guys would have been completely soaked!" Quinn replied.

"So? Wetness means see through shi-irts!" Lola singsonged. She turned towards me and found me fake-asleep. She shot Quinn a look and motioned her to wake me up. Quinn made a gesture as saying it wouldn't be such a good idea, but Lola pointed her finger to the alarm clock, which read 13.30. So they sneaked towards my bed, and Lola lightly touched my shoulder.

"Zoey? You awake?" I slightly opened my eyes and fake-yawned, covering myself more so they couldn't see me naked.

"Hey guys, already back?" I questioned.

"Yeah, they canceled the game because there was a storm" Quinn answered.

"Oh, no!" Lola cried.

"What?"

"I forgot my second suitcase down in the lounge. Will you help me get it Quinn?" Quinn rolled her eyes and followed Lola out of our room. Just as they did, I jumped up, took some random clothes from my drawer and put them on, sending the ones on my bed in the laundry basket.

**Chase's POV**

The ceiling of my dorm room was rather interesting. I was lying on the couch, just looking up. The TV was on, but I wasn't looking at it, neither listening to it. I was all alone, Michael and Logan still out. I glanced at the TV, which was showing some commercials. There was a girl... A young girl… A young, beautifully formed, long haired girl… Beautiful… Beautiful… Zoey.  
Zoey... Zoey... Oh God. I sighed. Just sighed and tried hard to get rid of the thoughts I was having. As I couldn't, I just got up, and wandered around the room, searching up for some kind of strong distraction from the one it was occupying my mind. Damn…

I just walked around helplessly looking for one or another thing to lay my eyes on, producing some sort of change of mind about her, but God, I just couldn't. I didn't think I was ever gonna be able to get out of my room without feeling awkward. She was my best friend, what was I thinking about? Such an awful… horrid… jerk… I just couldn't get rid of the thought that I had taken advantage of her. I mean, I had always loved her; but it was so… selfish. I got her in a silent way, without her noticing… Man, I was feeling horrible.

It had felt awesome, but it was so wrong. I let out an intense sigh and closed my eyes, trying to forget about it all. What was she doing right now? Did she wake up already? Did she regret it? Was she thinking about me?

I desperately looked around, and saw, lying on the table, my diary. Not an actual diary, but my song notebook. I opened it, and took a look at my aged notes;

"_There she was… Again, looking as beautiful as ever. Come on, mind out, and take a look at me; if only you could see that I'm not just a listener… You know, I've got ears, they work out only for you, dear, but I also got arms, with an irrepressible wish to hold you tight and take away every fear (…)"_

_"(...) So take my hand... I'll be your man... There are no demands (...)"_

Just in the moment I read those lines, my mind zoomed away. And brought those happy memories back, those nights I had spent writing this… crap! In that moment, I just couldn't hold it anymore. I began tearing off every page of that damn notebook. Lines and lines of stupid dreams about her, stupid and out of mind ideas of my best friend. And right after letting the diary in wrecked conditions, I sat down on the couch, my curls buried into my hands. I just couldn't believe it… I loved her… And she even knew it now.

"_I love you too_."  
Enough. This was over.

**What up guys!**

**4****th**** chapter up. Finally!**

**Like always, hope you liked it, and please review!**

**Haaaaave a nice day :P**

**~ValeSwiss94~**


	5. All alone

**No one's POV**

"So, the reason we need marketing is that if we want to sell a product…" Mr. Bender was explaining, but Zoey wasn't listening. She was distracted by Chase's elbow bumping her while he took notes on his PearBook Pro. After that night, everything seemed to look different; the air, the intense light of the morning, the bird's melodic singing in the window, the dark yet inspiring shade of the night… For God's sake, even her breathing had changed. She was a totally different Zoey by now, in need of Chase. But it seemed like he was avoiding her all the time, and she really missed him. The only times she saw him was in Media and Algebra class. And she _actually_ had a feeling he was sitting beside her just because there were assigned seats. Even when he was forced to talk to her for an assignment or something, he turned beat red and his words sounded sharp. She would have asked him why he was acting like that, but she couldn't exactly confront him during class, could she?

In that moment the bell rang, interrupting Zoey's thoughts, and as she got up to get her stuff she noticed Chase had already raced out the classroom. Her heart aching, Zoey packed her backpack and silently walked back to her dorm. It could have been good having a best friend right now, to help her get out of this situation, but oh…

That night Zoey didn't sleep.

Wandering around campus, the day after, she found herself in complete loneliness. Quinn and Lola were in their "Learn How to Chemically Attract a Boy Without Flirting Helplessly" class (if you can call that a class), which had large percentage of discount for friends, but she wasn't the type of girl to go to these kind of things, or at least she wasn't anymore. Plus, the class was full of morons, people who were asking questions like "Oh, and how do I know if I have any trace of mascara down my cheekbone? I mean, I'll be too busy using my tongue to care about that too!" and stuff like that. And she couldn't find Chase for their usual snack by the fountain in the middle of campus...

**Zoey POV**

I stood helplessly in front of the Basketball court. I missed those days, shooting hoops or playing Horse for hours, just enjoying my friends company... when I still was "Little Miss Perfect" in my head. Funny thing, I had never been perfect. Why would anyone think that? Maybe Chase thought the same… Maybe he thought that I was yearning to be even more perfect, that's why I asked him to take me to bed. Because I just couldn't be _perfect_ without being an actual _woman_… I felt my eyes getting wet thinking about him. No, he wasn't like that. He knew me, he knew that I wasn't like that. Didn't he?

I looked around, searching for someone to play with. I guess I could have gone searching for Michael or Logan? Michael would probably be around with Chase, or Lisa, and Logan was surely around one of his "female friends" as he called them. I guess I could have bought a mocaccino, and go sit down by the fountain; it was a wonderful sunny day! So I started walking towards the coffee cart. But then, as I approached the place, my body froze. My heart stopped for a second, and I just couldn't believe what I was seeing. Chase was there, sitting near the fountain. Our fountain, where we had shared so many memories. But he wasn't there for me... He was there for some girl, which he was heavily making out with. You've got to be kidding me. Suddenly something or someone was tightly clamping my stomach together, as I felt anger and betrayal coming up in me. I saw both of them gasping for some air, and then, in that moment, Chase made eye contact with me. I could tell he wasn't ashamed at all, yet surprised, while the girl turned around and sent me a small glare. How could he do this to me? I couldn't help it anymore, and tears started forming in my eyes, as I desperately tried to hold them back. Clearly I couldn't, so I just ran right back to my dorm room, not even caring if Lola or Quinn were in there. I didn't care. How could he do this to me? I got even more angry, realizing that he had seen me cry, and didn't follow me. The Chase I knew once would have ran like hell to find out what was wrong. What changed him? You can't honestly tell me, that just because he wasn't a virgin anymore, he somehow became a bigger jerk than Logan. God, I hated him for that, I hated him! After all we had shared, he didn't care at all.

The day after I was having lunch with the gang again. Their random talking was helping me distract from hurtful thoughts. Thankfully Chase wasn't having lunch with us. Apparently he started acting distant from the rest of the gang too, which made me feel a bit better. But no, I wasn't thinking about him right now. Lola was talking about Jake again. They had been on a date the day before, and she was telling us every detail about it. I silently giggled as I watched the disgusted and slightly bummed faces of Michael and Logan. I took another bite from my salmon sandwich, and suddenly my smile dropped down.

Chase was approaching the table. Hand In hand with the girl I saw yesterday. I automatically looked down, and wow, my sandwich looked a lot more interesting now. As Chase greeted everyone, the whole gang answered with a surprised tone.

"Hey guys! I wanted to introduce you to Ginny." I looked up again. Chase had a huge smile on his face, which just didn't look like his usual goofy smile… The whole gang answered with their "Hi!" and I let out a little sigh. Chase looked her for a moment and then continued "She's my girlfriend."

Girlfriend. Girlfriend. How could he say those words with no hesitation? My eyes wandered around the table, and I saw Logan checking out Ginny's body and smiling sassy. Lola and Quinn were already asking her to sit down next to them, but Chase just replied "She's only sitting next to me!" and gave her a quick kiss on the mouth.

What was so special about her?! I mean, she was pretty, but she looked like a slut! I just couldn't understand. Chase didn't have any girlfriend after Rebecca, for a long time, and now, after what had happened between us, he just goes out with the first girl he has the chance to? I really thought, that when someone said "I love you" it actually meant "I have romantic feelings about you". Did I get something wrong about that? He was such an asshole! But even as much as I wanted to, I wasn't getting up and running away again. I wouldn't be the coward again.

"Hey, weren't you the blondie who disrupted us from our little moment yesterday?" I heard that bitch saying. I looked up again, and I noticed how the gang was staring at me. I didn't know what to do. Whether to stand up and kill her, or to pretend having no ears.

"What does she mean, Zo?" Lola asked. I was trapped. Thank God I had watched Lola practicing her acting skills so many times. I just pulled on my best smile, slightly crooked my head, and replied:

"Yeah, sorry about that! It's just you know, I'm not used to see my best friend with his tongue down some harlot's throat in public normally... But nevermind, you probably don't even know what that means"

Everyone looked around with surprised faces. I normally wasn't like this at all. Logan let out a long whistling sound, Chase just glared at me. Ginny still looked at me with a confused face. God, she is stupid.

"Sorry, I have to go now... It was a _real pleasure _meeting you, Ginny" I continued, as I got up. She smiled at me, still kinda confused. Zoey 1, Ginny 0.

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**Weekly chapter up, as promised. **

**Liked it? Review and tell me! :)**

**Have a great day! :D**

**~ValeSwiss94~**


	6. Broken strings

**No One's POV**

"So… Are you coming to the football game tomorrow?" Michael asked his best friend, that afternoon.

"I can't." Chase simply answered to Michael's tenth attempt of the last hour to get him to go to the game, while typing quickly in his laptop, eyes settled on it.

"Why, dude?"

"Going out."

"Who with?"

"Ginny." Chase stressed her name by typing harder. Michael got up.

"Dude, I understand you're with her now, but we're still your friends, you know? I don't understand… And what about Zoey?"

Chase didn't make a move, still staring at his screen.

"What about her?" he said, getting back to the typing.

"Come on, man! Ya know what I'm talking about!'

"I don't, Mike" Chase's voice sounded indifferent. Michael threw his soccer ball to him.

"Ow, what did you do that for?" Chase threw it back to him, furiously.

"Dude, stop the violence! And the acting, we all know you still love her!" Chase froze and got up, leaving his laptop aside. He seemed to ignore what Michael had just said, but then he just turned back to him and started almost yelling.

"What do you think, that after three years of her completely ignoring me I would still be chasing her?! Do you think I'm that much of a loser to spend another three fucking years suffering in secret?! Really? I'm not that much of an idiot anymore"

Michael stood in shock by Chase's raged answer. He had never seen his friend this way. Chase was usually slow to anger, and Zoey was a topic he surely never yelled about.

"What's with you, man? I've never seen you like this!"

"Well, get used to it! I'm not the biggest loser on campus anymore. You should be the first one to know, things have changed."

"Dude! You've never been a loser to me,! I'm your best bud here, Chase! And let me tell ya, I'm not sure I like where this is going. I really think you should spend some time with Zoey again" Chase looked away. Suddenly his voice lowered.

"This is none of your business. Now that Ginny is with me, time makes me take Zoey out of the plan. Friends come and go. That's it." Chase's eyes were posed in the middle of the floor, in a frowned expression. His heart was beating pretty hard, but the anger inside him was even greater. Zoey was being cut out of his life, indeed. She had been his best friend, once, nothing more. Suddenly, a memory formed inside of his head. Him and Zoey, freshmen year, throwing stones at the lake, right after the dance. He remembered how mad she'd got after the whole pairing thing. Other people would probably have turned away and said goodbye to him... And then, images of the two of them just flooded his mind. Images he had tried to repress so hardly in the past few weeks… Their first night… Their first time together… Their first kiss… The way their hearts raced at the exact same pace… the night they loved each other.

"I don't get you, dude." Michael just said.

Chase shook his head, trying to erase all those memories. Zoey didn't matter anymore. As he said, things had changed, and those memories… were just memories of something that just shouldn't have happened at all.

"WELL, DON'T TRY TO! Who needs you anyway?! A friend who isn't even able to mind his business! I'm not in love with Zoey, alright? Get it? Do I have to repeat it again?"

Michael's eyes widened and suddenly, the way he once saw his best friend seemed to disappear. His friend changed, he obviously changed.

"Never mind. I'm useless anyway, huh?" And with that, he walked out and slammed the door loudly behind him.

"Indeed you are." Chase whispered just after Michael left the dorm. He swiftly got back to the window chat, and saw a particular name appeared in there.

-KatyKaSweetKandy logged in-

One word. Manliness.

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The next few days were hell for Zoey. She had caught Chase and Ginny too many times snuggling, kissing and holding hands, and it was driving her sick. For real. She had puked a few times that week, but with those two cuddling around campus it was impossible not to. Then suddenly something happened, and Ginny and Chase weren't together anymore. For one day Zoey could be seen on campus with a huge smile on her face, quickly whiped away on a Saturday night, by seeing Chase sneek into a janitors closet with another girl. Another one? No way. What is it, make-out-with-the-more-people-you-get-to month?

Lola and Quinn didn't help her much either. They had noticed the awkwardness between her and Chase, and had asked from the first day what was wrong with them. Of course she couldn't tell them, and it was even worse that they probably thought she was jealous. Which was, in fact, right, but surely not what Zoey wanted to show.

**Zoey POV**

One night, one of those nights you simply jump out of bed because of a nightmare, I got up, my stomach soaring and having a headache. I could hear water pouring down pretty hard out the window, and I noticed that the room was unusually quiet. Oh right: Quinn and Lola weren't there, they had said something about a sleepover at Ginny's. Again, that slut. She stole my roommates too.

I was feeling sick again. So I made my way to the bathroom. It was completely empty, but I didn't really care. I was a very social person, but when I wasn't feeling well, I liked to be alone. I looked into a mirror, as a haggard blonde greeted me dreary. Gosh, I looked hideous! Still, I didn't want to wear make-up, I wasn't in the mood to. So I slipped a finger down my eyes, moving round the mascara that slightly made contact with my cheekbone and decided to wash my face which clearly read "I've been crying".

Done. At the end of the day, I wasn't weak… I shut the bathroom door behind me, feeling a little lonely but also a little bit better. A little bit more _powerful. _As if no one mattered but me. Yeah, Chase could just stuff his little slut. I didn't care.

"So what, you betray me like this? I gave you all I had, all my love, all my soul. I sacrificed my former life for you. This is not how things should have been."

Claps. Lola's acting coach clapped at her performance, as she hopped down the stage in the PCA theater. Her acting skills had improved a lot over the last few months, and she was hoping to get the part in a movie or tv show soon. She suddenly noticed that the theater wasn't completely empty: Quinn Pennsky was sitting in one of the front rows, tapping furiously on her laptop. She must've had something to tell her.

"Have you not noticed something weird?" Quinn said as she and Lola walked out of the theatre.

"When and where?" Lola replied.

"Not when or where, who. Zoey and Chase" Quinn lowered her voice, as if it was taboo. Lola just gave her a look.

"What about them?" Man. Lola was just so dull sometimes.

"Oh, come on! When's the last time you've seen them hang out together? You know, in the "Zoey-Chase" way?"

Lola seemed to think for a moment, and then suddenly stopped in her tracks.

"You are right! Oh my god, how come I haven't noticed this?"

"There is so something going on. I mean, if it wasn't that I know them, I would say they just went through a breakup" They stopped again and looked at each other. Could it be?

"Knowing Zoey, they probably would have left it a secret"

"Maybe Chase said he loved her and she said she didn't"

"Yeah, but it seems more like Zoey is the heartbroken one here"

"Maybe Chase cheated on her"

"Chase? Come on. He's head over heels for Zoey, he wouldn't ever..."

"I know, but in the last few weeks he's been sneaking around with countless girls - maybe he's seeking revenge for something"

"He wants to make Zoey jealous"

"And she totally is" They finished, with huge smiles on their face.

So that night, Lola and Quinn tried to talk to Zoey. Obviously, with no result.

"Hey Zoe, mind if we talk a sec?" Zoey had just got back from the shower, meaning she would stay in their room for some time.

"Sure, shoot" she just replied. Quinn slowly slid behind Zoey to close the door, and gestured towards Lola to start the conversation.

"So, uhm, everything fine between you and... Chase?"

Zoey froze for a second, then resumed brushing her hair.

"why would there be something wrong?"

"Well, we just... noticed, you guys haven't been spending much time together lately"

"Doesn't mean there's something wrong"

"Oh come on, Zoey, you can tell us if you're in love with him" Quinn just snapped back.

Zoey almost tripped over her own feet, and seemed really lost for moment as she looked at her two roommates.

"In love? Now where did you get that from?" She replied almost histerically. No way. There was no way they could know.

"You just seem pretty... jealous when Chase is around with other girls" said, Lola trying to calm the situation.

"Yeah! And look, we're your best friends! I mean, you can tell us anything! It's not your fault if he's an asshole"

At that Zoey just couldn't take it anymore. "Chase has done nothing. And you don't even have the right to pry into my business!"

And she rushed out of the room, almost screaming, leaving Lola and Quinn deluded and worried.

Just as Zoey started feeling a bit better, recovering from the many falls, graduation approached, and things changed. It's incredible, how you can have great ideas, do stupid things, and feel bolder, at night. But then morning comes again, and you realize, you were just fooling around with yourself. Reality strikes back in all its power, making you feel every single weakness you ever had. Of course, you could just wait until dawn, and get back to your wonderful world. But that would be too easy, wouldn't it? That's why Zoey just couldn't take it anymore. She was so hyper, every morning, waking up too early, and having to stay in bed until the normal get-up-time came. Butterflies in her stomach, for no apparent reason, anxiety drowning over her. She had seen Chase with other two girls after Ginny and him broke up. It was like he wanted to break Logan's making out record. But even Logan seemed nicer than this new Chase. What about all their plans on going to college together? Crashed. Everything she was sure about, had crashed. She'd never realized how much Chase meant in her life. Of course, she had always seen him as one of the most important people in her life, but this was more. But then, oh yeah, she was in love with him.

So, one day she went to his room and sat down on his bed waiting for him. They needed to talk.

**Chase POV**

"So that's why I didn't have time studying for the History test, which is coming up faster than I thought" Cindy explained in a clear flirty way. A dark blonde-haired girl, green eyes… lovely. "Would you help me out?" she pulled out the puppy face I couldn't resist to.

"Sure. But I think there's something better we could do other than studying…" Of course I wasn't trying to fuck her. I wasn't the kind of guy that thinks about fucking every girl he meets, but well, I couldn't exactly reject them when they were throwing themselves at me, did I?.

"Oh, and what could that be? Tell me" she moved closer to me, her voice growing flirtier.

"No need to tell, babe" Seconds later we were entering to my door room, embraced into each other's arms, having a good time kissing. I almost fell on the floor as I felt my foot crashing into my desk. Damn, I was still clumsy as hell. Cindy was giggling between our heavy make-out session, and it was driving me crazy. Good way or not, it was. We fell onto the couch, as I heard a strange noise. Didn't matter. I could feel her heartbeat racing just as much as mine. I didn't usually cause this effect in girls, but hell, I surely wasn't complaining! I felt her hands slowly inching down my chest. But I was starting to need air. I heard something again, and so did she, because after the loud un-vacuum sound from pulling out of the kiss I saw Zoey. Sitting in my bed, closing her eyes in clear disgust. God, why did these things always happen to me? Cindy got off me and the couch, making an "Oopss" sound followed by the very known quote of "Call me!" which I heard way too much this week. This was followed by a pair of inquisitive eyes and a _very_ awkward silence.

**No one's POV**

As Chase came in, he didn't notice Zoey sitting on his bed. Let's say he was too interested on a third girl's teeth, which he seemed to be sucking off. Zoey tore her eyes away from them and coughed a little to let them know she was there, but they didn't hear it. So she coughed louder, and the girl noticed. A loud un-vacuum sound was heard as she pulled out from the kiss, Zoey closing her eyes in disgust. Chase also noticed her, and finally the girl left with a "call me!". Slut.

Chase turned to her with questioning eyes.

"You ehm… searching for Michael and Logan? They're not going to be here until—"

"No" she interrupted him. "I was looking for you"

He avoided her gaze and just made an "oh" sound. A moment of silence passed.

"Got nothing to say?" he asked.

"I'm trying to find the words to ask without insulting you" Zoey coldly replied. "Why are you avoiding me? We haven't talked in weeks. And what up with all these girls?" she almost screamed. Tears were forming once again, and she just couldn't stop them.

"I am avoiding you? Sorry if I felt awkward, after being begged to have sex with you, having that crappy sex and then goodbye!" Zoey's mouth was agape, her make-up strained on her cheeks from the tears.

"What the hell, Chase?" now she was yelling. What kind of jerk was he being?

"Well I don't think my love life has anything to do with you!" he added. He was ripping his heart apart all by himself, but he couldn't do otherwise. She had said she loved him, which was such an enormous lie. She had broken his heart in a million pieces, just like he was doing it to her. But Zoey wasn't a girl made to run away after being insulted. If the war was on, she could at least fight to win.

"Love life? You call that love life? 'cause I would call it one-night-stand life! So what, after that Ginny girl broke up with you, you just thought –Hey, if I can't fuck her, let's fuck someone else!-?"

"What are you, jealous? Sorry if I don't want to play the "perfect little virgin" character like you anymore!"

Slap. Chase was holding his reddening cheek while Zoey stood there, shocked on what she had done, her hand still mid-air. Chase stood in shock. She was going to pay. For everything she did to him. Because she'd anyways get what she deserved. And what about him, huh?

"What's with you, Chase?" she literally spoke out of breath, tears rolling down her cheeks. Chase couldn't take it anymore. Been holding on all this time, this damned grief, forever…? So he did it. He kissed her fiercely on the mouth, attempting to transfer every single piece of pain he's been carrying three years back then. Then he just pulled apart, wiping away every sense of her touch. He didn't want anything to do with her by now.

Zoey was speechless. That move was completely unexpected. She was feeling so weak now, didn't know what say. Chase probably knew her more than she ever thought. He knew her spots. All these years… She looked up to him, trying to see through those green eyes, but there was something she just couldn't catch; Chase's eyes didn't resemble the green grass they were once, instead, they were filled with anger, regret, and probably hate. Zoey felt her legs moving back to his bed until she suddenly stopped. So she opened her mouth, a terrified voice coming out of her.

"What's with you?" this time, her voice could barely have been heard. But Chase heard perfectly fine. He moved away the long inches between them and spoke out.

"I hate you" Chase whispered, with noticeable painful voice. To Zoey that was worse than a loud yell in her ear. Her heart skipped a beat and she could feel all the anger coming back up to her body, moving round every sense of fear.

"WELL I HATE YOU MORE!" Zoey screamed, and a second later she was out of his room, knowing everything was over.

* * *

**Weekly chapter up!**

**Sorry for the delay, I had some stuff keeping me veeeeery busy the last few days...**

**Hope you enjoy, and please review!**

**~~ValeSwiss94**


	7. All good things (come to an end)

Zoey rarely was furious. She had learned that anger never solved anything. But this time, she just couldn't keep it together anymore. She was racing down the hallways, not even looking where she was going, fists clutched together like she was holding back an impulse to punch a wall down. How could he even...? This wasn't him anymore. This wasn't the person she knew a few weeks ago. She suddenly decided she needed to get some air, and abruptly changed direction to get out, knocking into someone by doing so. Her mouth mumbled half an excuse as she got up, still so angry that she wasn't able to concentrate on who she knocked into. She turned around to leave, but a hand on her shoulder stopped her.

"Zoey, you okay?" Michael said.

"Oh Michael, I didn't notice you"

"You... just knocked into me"

"Oh, that was you? Sorry again" She said. This conversation was making her nervous. She just needed to get out...

"You seem like you could need some talking" Oh man.

"Could we just do this outside? I urgently need some fresh air" Michael looked at her weirdly. He then seemed to notice the pain she was in so he nodded and lead the way.

**Michael POV**

"Where do you want to go? The fountain?"

"Oh no" She spat out. I had never seen Zoey in such a state. What was going on?

Just as he was thinking of all the things that could have happened that could make her so upset, she sat down on a rock beneath the pond. I silently sat down beside her, and waited for her to say something.

"Where's Chase, Michael?" she then asked.

"ehm... I guess up in our room or something?"

"No, you're wrong" Huh? She turned and looked me in the eye.

"The person I just talked to, in your room, surely wasn't Chase. They look the same, but it's not him"

"I know what you're talking about" I said. They probably had fought. And knowing my "new" roommate, he must had hurt her like noone ever could.

"What happened?"

"I tried to fix things up with him. Don't know if you noticed, but we haven't been spending much time together lately..." I nodded.

"And I don't know what happened. I really don't know. Only thing that is clear now, is that me and Chase will never, ever, make things right again" I was going to kill him. Literally. Kill him. One thing was if he treated me like crap, another when he started to treat one of my greatest friends like that. Especially if it was a girl.

"What happened, that made him change?" She continued.

"I don't know, but if it makes you feel better, I don't like him either"

We stayed silent for a bit. It was weird, that Zoey asked me what was happening to Chase, because I honestly thought it had something to do with her. Maybe it did, she just didn't realize?

"Are you sure nothing happened between you and him, that would make him angry or something?" I asked. She looked up, and sighed.

"This stays between us, doesn't it Michael?"

"Of course" I nodded.

"Something happened. I'm not going to tell you what it is, but I assure you, it wasn't bad. And then, the day after, Chase is some self-centered asshole" What could it be? One got accepted to a great college, and the other didn't? Something romantic? Something about money?

I looked back up at her and she was grinning at me. "What?"

"You look funny, so concentrated on trying to find out what happened"

"Ha ha. At least it cheered you up" She smiled slightly, while standing up. I hadn't noticed time was passing by so quickly, but it was already sunset.

"Well, I guess I should go back to my dorm, we still have a lot of exams to study for" she said. I nodded, and got up as well. She waved her hand and walked away. Man, this situation was crap.

**Zoey POV**

My dorm room was completely empty, as I got back from the talk with Michael. Lola and Quinn had probably gone out on a double date or something. I was hungry, so I opened our minibar to see if there was something to eat. Well, I had a choice between crackers or grapes. Obviously, I chose grapes, and decided on studying English while I ate. Bad decision. I just couldn't concentrate, so I pulled my laptop out from under my bed and started watching a movie.

I probably fell asleep during the movie, because when I woke up I literally had slept with my face on the keyboard. I got up and looked at myself in the mirror, my face looking like I had just burned myself to the flesh. It was kinda funny. And there I went, with an attack of hysterical laughter that made me crash to the ground clutching my stomach tightly. Man, I was really riding an emotional rollercoaster lately...

An hour later I was studying in the common room, as Lola and Quinn approached me almost shyily and sat down beside me. I looked up at them as they didn't say a word, and my action triggered a sudden burst of "We're so sorry" and "we didn't mean to make you angry" and "we went too far"s, accompanied by two puppy faces that I knew they only pulled out when asking for forgiveness.

The only thing I could do was smile, and tell them it was okay. I couldn't afford to lose them as friends as well, and who knows, maybe one day I'll tell them what happened, and they will understand why I was so distant.

"So, you guys ready for the Media exam?" Quinn asked. Crap. I hadn't paid much attention at media lately, and my grades were dropping slightly.

"Actually, I might need some help with that" I confessed.

* * *

A month later, exams were over. I sighed contently and closed my eyes to the bright sun, as I got out from my last exam, enjoying the heat on my face and the feeling of relief as I had no studying to look forward to. Still, a thought made my happiness tremble a bit: I would be going home in 2 days. For good. No more PCA, no more gang, and a new challenge to face: college. It was the end of a part of my life, and I wasn't sure if I was ready for it. I joined the rest of the gang (except for Chase, obviously) at the basketball court and we spent the rest of the day shooting hoops and playing horse. Even Lola joined, even though she wasn't a very sporty person. But this was ou last chance to spend some time together, and we sure didn't want to mess it up.

The day of graduation, my mom and dad arrived to see the ceremony. I hadn't told them about me and Chase fighting, and thankfully they didn't question the cold glares we gave each other when we met around campus. Soon enough, the day was over, and I was being called up to the stage to get my diploma. I remember smiling, my dad filming proudly from the audience and mom and Dustin clapping hands furiously. Suddenly it drowned on me: PCA was officially over.

I got down from the stage and ran behind the scenes to hug Lola and Quinn tightly, as I felt my stomach turn in a funny way and I had to run to the bathroom. Lola and Quinn followed me, and stood guard at the stall door as i puked up everything I had eaten in days. Great finale, I would say.

* * *

**Ok guys, here's chapter 7. **

**There's a TWIST coming! Can't you feel it? **

**Are you even ready for this?**

**;) ;)**

**JK. Hey, if you liked it, why not add to favorites/follow/review this story?**

**It would make me soooo happy :)**

**See ya next week!**

**~Vale Swiss94~**


	8. Untogether

**5 years later**

**Sarah POV**

"Mommy, mommy, the door!" I was screaming. I heard mommy race down the stairs as I went back into my room. An evil thought crossed my mind, I turned and started to walk towards the kitchen. Mommy and I had been baking cookies, and I just couldn't wait to eat some! They were on the kitchen counter. Why did I have to be so short? I stood on my tippie-toes and tried to reach up. Didn't work. I looked around and saw the stool I used to bake the cookies this morning. I grabbed it and used it to get to the counter. And there they were, my chocolate chip cookies, still a bit warm! I carefully touched one to see if it was too hot, but it was okay. I hungrily shoved it in my mouth.

"mmmhh!" My tongue! My tongue! The cookie was still really hot on the inside! I began to cry as I spat it all out in the sink. I raced to the door, were I figured mommy was, with my mouth wide open, crying loudly. Mommy must have heard me, because she was turned to me, worried as I came out of the kitchen.

"What is it, cupcake? What happened?" I showed her my tongue.

"You ate one of the cookies? Honey, you know how hot they were. Drink this cold water" It wasn't hurting as much as before, but I still took the glass from mommy's hand and drank. Just then I noticed a man looking at me from the door. I pointed at him looking at mommy, since I couldn't speak. She seemed a bit weird, I hoped she was alright.

"Honey, this is Chase, a friend of mine from PCA, remember? I showed you the pictures" The man smiled to me, and I ran back to my room. I didn't like to meet new people.

**Zoey POV**

"you go brush your teeth, and then it's time for your nap" I told Sarah, my five year old daughter right after launch. We had been baking cookies the whole morning, and Sarah wasn't the only one being tired right now. I sighed as I got up and went to the kitchen, bringing our plates with me. I dropped them into the sink, since there was absolutely no place on the counter. I looked at the sink, then back at the couch, then at the sink, then at the couch. _What the hell_, I thought as I left the dishes there and walked towards the couch. But as I was halfway there, the door bell rang. Exasperated, I raced down the hallway to open the door, not really caring about who it was, still thinking of the nap I wanted to take. I looked up a second after opening the door, and what I saw made my heart stop.

Chase was still looking at where Sarah disappeared as I turned back to him, begging she didn't burn her tongue too bad. He slowly lifted his head at me with a questioning look.

"is she... Your daughter?" he asked slowly.

I nodded smiling a little, although I had a mess inside my head and was growing more and more nervous.

"oh" he just concluded. He stood there, awkwardly tripping over his own feet in the hallway. I could just think he hadn't changed a bit, as I realized maybe I should invite him to come in.

"sorry, I just zoomed away a bit... Come in, you must be freezing, it's really cold outside"

"who thought you'd end up living in a freezing Nashville? I could've sworn you were going to live in some really sunny place, like California, or Florida..." he said as he came in and took his jacket off.

"yeah, well" I could just reply. "How did you find me?"

"Lola"

Right. Lola would definitely be the one telling him. Although she wasn't the only one permanently asking what was wrong with me and Chase in senior year. I could understand them, but what could I say? Surely not the truth. That would have been so humiliating. So, I just shut up and didn't say a thing. Thank God Chase did the same. Io realized I was zooming away again, and invited him to come sit in the living room.

"Sorry for the mess, if I knew you were coming I would've cleaned up or something" he seemed not to care, shrugging. He seemed to be looking for someone, but all you could hear was Sarah getting another glass of water in the bathroom upstairs.

"So... Lola said you weren't married" he started. Bingo. I knew that question would come.

"true" I just said, looking down.

"boyfriend?"

"no"

"oh" Great. Another uncomfortable silence drawned over us.

"Her father left me" Chase gave me a strange look.

"How old is she?" I felt my heart in my throat. He would find out... He would definitely find out. How am I getting out of this?

"Almost six" I whispered. Now there. Done. Trace back six years, where do you get? Senior year. This was getting the worst conversation in my life. Seriously. Just then, Sarah came shily down the stairs. She looked at Chase, then back at me, as if asking if he wasn't dangerous. I nodded slowly, and she trotted towards me to hop up on my lap. Chase watched her carefully. It was so obvious. She had long, curly, dirty blonde hair and green eyes. Only an idiot could not see it.

Chase's eyes darted up at me, and I bet he could see the truth on my face.

"Does... he... know about her?" he struggled with words, trying not to make Sarah understand what he was talking about.

I slowly shook my head. A knowing, angry look formed on his face. My heart sank. He just needed to ask, and I couldn't lie. I could never lie to him.

"I think we need to talk" he just said. The look in his eyes made my heart sink. I had seen it before. Senior year.

"Honey, why don't you go play a little in your room?" I told Sarah. She looked at me for a brief moment, then ran to her room.

"Are you kidding me, Zoey? Someone gets you pregnant and you don't even tell him? It's not like it's your fault if he's an asshole!" My head darted up at him. Maybe there still was a way out of this.

"It was just one night, and I wasn't even in touch with him anymore as I found out" He looked at me with what seemed concern.

"And this was in senior year?" I just nodded. He slowly lifted his hands to put them on my shoulders. A shiver went down my spine, and for a moment I had a flash of memories of that night.

"Please tell me it wasn't me." he whispered.

* * *

**So how was that? **

**Hope you liked this chapter as well. Gonna keep posting, don't worry! :)**

**Review, and have a nice day! :D**

**~ValeSwiss94~**


	9. Shattered glass

**_"Please tell me it wasn't me." he whispered._**

.

.

I didn't answer. A tear escaped the corner of my eye, and I just couldn't look in his eyes right now. His hands trembled, and I could swear he wasn't even breathing. He backed off and sat back on the couch.

"What... why... when..." he said, his hands buried in his curls. I just couldn't talk. In less than 5 minutes, my world had turned upside down. I was so confused... although I knew this day would come. And right then, I felt like being 17 again. So vulnerable, not knowing what to do, worrying about the future. I looked up to see Chase looking at me. Really _staring_. He was probably wondering what was wrong with me, and I couldn't really blame him.

"Explain" He just said, with a broken voice. I didn't know what to say. I could've told him how he shattered my heart, how I lived with the feeling of his child growing inside of me, knowing it would never meet its father... Seemed like some sort of dramatic movie. I looked into his eyes, and I couldn't lie. Damn.

"After our fight... we didn't talk anymore. And before I knew it PCA was over. I found out some days after graduation. I was meaning to tell you but... I heard about your plans on going to England to study. I didn't want to ruin your life" I paused, while Chase was still staring at me.

"But I couldn't abort too. I just couldn't. I would have been so wrong, and thank God I made that decision. She's what I live for"

I looked down to the carpet. God, this was really happening.

"I can't believe it" He said. He was angry. I could tell he was really mad, and he was right. This was a secret no one should keep.

"I can't believe it! You're pregnant, you know I'm the father and you decide not to tell me because you didn't want to ruin my career? This is... This is..." He stood up, walking around the apartment, shaking his head. I was feeling like dirt now.

"Why did you ask me to do that in the first place? I mean... it was such a stupid... thing! I..." He was rambling. But it wasn't his usual cute rambling when he was talking to me. This was the What-the-hell-is-wrong-with-you rambling. A tear escaped the corner of my eye.

"I don't know" I answered. I really didn't know why I had asked him to that. Teenager problems. Maybe I was already in love with him at the time, but I couldn't say that.

"I really don't know what to do now" he said. "a part of me wants to kill you right now, and the other to torture you, then kill you. I can't believe this..."

My heart felt like an elephant stomped on it. I felt so crashed. He hated me...

"The only thing I'd want to do now is walk out of here and forget everything. You and your dirty secrets the most" He said painfully. I was openly crying right now. What the hell? Zoey Brooks was a big girl. He broke my heart before, and now I'm not even going to fight for it?

"Well, it's not exactly my fault if you show up after 5 years of complete ignoring and pretend everything is like before!" I yelled. "And I have a question too, you know? I might have not told you about Sarah, but you broke my heart in a million pieces cutting off every contact, losing our friendship! And for what? For what, Matthews? Give me a reason, 'cause I never found one! And don't tell me our night together was the problem, 'cause we both know it's not!"

He was staring at me, backing off by my sudden outburst. He didn't say anything. I wonder what he was thinking, and as he looked back down at the carpet I sighed loudly. Stupid Chase! Stupid Chase who had to ruin everything!

I whiped my tears away, and turned to the stairs. I could catch Sarah looking at us from behind the corner. I looked her in the eyes, and I could see me and Chase that night again. She was so perfect... Her green eyes were Chase's, the ones he had before the fight. Lovable ones. God knows how much I love her, and it hurt me she had to listen to this whole fighting. She came down the stairs and ran to me, hugging me as she noticed I was crying.

"Why are you crying, mommy?" she asked. Chase was looking at us with an indescribable look. I had to do it. I had feared this day so much, maybe I had also hoped it would never come. But that was such an egoistic thought. Sarah needed a father. I remembered one night, a few weeks before, as Sarah came home, crying about some kid in school that had said her dad didn't want her. It tore my heart apart.

"Honey, do you remember the picture I gave you of your dad?" She nodded yes. "Go take it" I watched her race upstairs into her room and back, a picture in her hand. I saw Chase looking at it. It was the last one snapped of me and Chase as friends. We were sitting by a table, bodies close, laughing at some joke. Quinn had snapped it, one of the many for the PCA yearbook.

"Do you know who this man is, Sarah?" She looked up to meet his eyes. His look had softened from the fight, and I could catch a glimpse of happiness as they stared at each other. A few seconds passed, and I could feel the tension in the room. Then Chase's mouth curved into a slight smile and Sarah grinned broadly at him. She turned to me to whisper something in my ear. Tears came to my eyes again, and I simply nodded. Sarah looked at him again, then at the picture in her hand. In one split second she ran to him and jumped into his arms, squeezing him to death. Chase also had tears in his eyes. I thought it would have been better to leave them alone, letting them adjust to the situation.

A few days had passed, and Chase had decided to stay in hotel in town for a little while. We hadn't spoken so much, he mostly just wanted to see Sarah. He came by every day to see her, and she was having the time of her life. Everything was perfect, except for the tension between me and Chase. I was expecting some sort of talking soon, but it just seemed not to come. Then one day, Chase came visiting Sarah, as usual. But as she went sleeping, he didn't go for the door like every other day. He walked up in front of me, and just said we needed to talk. We sat down on the couch, and he seemed calm. Not like me.

"I'm sorry" He said. he put his hands in his curly fro and sighed.

"I'm sorry, about everything. I don't want to fight"

"Me neither. I'm really sorry too. This whole argument..." Chase stopped me with a wave of his hand.

"No, it's my fault. This whole thing is my fault. If I didn't act like a prick and broke our friendship, everything would have been fine. I just... was so angry with you..."

"Why, Chase, why?"

"Because you said you love me" he said. Oh God, he remembered. But why would he get angry for that? I stayed silent. What should I say now?

"...What?" I spat out.

"You... you said you loved me. And I was so angry because... I knew it was a lie" he said, sighing, and his head went back into his hands again. What?

"Why a lie?" I asked him, and I saw his cheeks grow red between his hands. He quickly recovered, lifting his head and looking straight into my eyes.

"Because I was in love with you"

* * *

**Short little chapter this week. Trying to keep up with writing the rest of the story :s**

**Hope you liked it :)**

**Review & add to favorites! It would mean the world to me :D**

**~ValeSwiss94~**


	10. Kidnap my heart

God. I was looking at him, mouth agape. He was in love with me. Had been, more exactly. Butterflies formed in my stomach. No way. After a minute or so I realized I still didn't say anything, my mouth closed and I tried to find words.

"That... doesn't explain why you thought it was a lie"

"It was a lie. We were making love, and I can understand it slipped out. But it got me so angry, that you would tell such a big lie, that I..."

"I thought that yours was a lie" I said, interrupting him. "I thought you meant it in a brotherly way... afterwards"

"What do you mean afterwards?" Now it was my turn to get red. Everything, everything I had kept secret for so many years, was slipping out.

"When I said I loved you... I meant it" He looked at me blankly.

"in a brother-sister way" he added. I shook my head. Why couldn't he understand?

"You mean... you were actually in love with me at the time?" He said, scanning my face for answers. I nodded, and I felt like I was almost free. Free from that damn secret, but something was still holding back.

"Oh God" He just said. There was silence for a few minutes, none of us spoke. I didn't know what to say. Our friendship screwed up for nothing. Actually, if we hadn't been so stubborn to keep our own secrets, everything would have gone the exact opposite: we would have kissed, said sorry, and been girlfriend and boyfriend happily. But no, everything had to go the wrong way. We had lost so much time, lost for nothing. I felt shattered, as if all I had believed in in the last 6 years just disappeared. Suddenly, I thought about Sarah. This whole time, during the argument with Chase, it was all about me and him... but Sarah was in the picture too. Chase was her father, and God knows how many sleepless nights I thought about her need to have someone to call dad. She had always been "bullied" a bit by other kids because of that, and I was always the image of the teenager pregnant girl in other moms eyes. It had been difficult. Like, really difficult, but we did it... and now that Chase showed up, everything had taken another turn. I couldn't say if it was a good or a bad one, but it definitely was a change in our lives.

Chase suddenly looked up at me, his green eyes piercing through me. His look was indescribable. I couldn't help but stare back, and his expression slowly softened. He was looking at me, really trying to catch in every detail of me, and so was I. We had changed so much. At least on the outside... because on the inside I felt like 13 year old Zoey Brooks, helping the same-aged Chase Matthews to stand up as he crashed into a pole. I couldn't believe so much time had passed...

As we said goodbye that evening, something was different. The air was still, warm, and his hand rested an extra second on mine as we walked to the door. We stood there for an eternity, until a faint smile crossed Chase's face, and I giggled lightly to myself. He started laughing, so did I, and we just couldn't stop. My stomach was beginning to hurt and I leaned onto him. He supported my weight for a few seconds, before we slowly started to slide down the wall to sit on the floor. That was the first time ever, since senior year, I laughed so hard. And obviously, last time, it was thanks to the same Chase Matthews.

**Zoey POV**

"Sarah, get over here RIGHT NOW!" I said, screaming and running after my daughter. She was a nice little girl, but she had those moments when... ugh! I ran as fast as I could, and trapped her in a corner, and then forcing a pink shirt down her head. Not easy. Really not easy. She squirmed under me, but I finally managed to get it on her. She pouted at my victory, but quickly recovered as she heard the doorbell ring, and ran to the door. I smiled too. Chase.

"Woah! You're growing up, little princess! You almost knocked me down!" I heard screaming from the hallway. Sarah must have attacked Chase as he got in... I was slightly giggling to myself, wondering how on earth I had survived these years without him. I looked at myself in the mirror and smiled even more. It had been some time since I dressed cute for someone, and it made me really... happy. He came through the door into the kitchen and his expression made me flutter inside. Same expression as a few years before...

"You look wonderful" he said, and pulled out a single, pink lilie from behind his back. It made me almost crash into tears.

"My God, Chase, it's so beautiful..." I said, remembering every single word we had said that fateful night. He obviously did too, because I saw his look, staring at me, piercing through my heart and my soul. And I realized it: Chase Matthews was back, full-force, in my heart. Damn.

* * *

That day was the happiest I had had in a very long time. We had decided to go for shopping, lunch and a walk outside, since it was so nice. To say that Sarah loved the first part was nothing. Sometimes I really believed she had somehow got some genes from Lola (who knows): she stationed into a cabinet, me and Chase just bringing loads of clothes for her to try out. Chase could bring the most unpredictable things: men's trousers, bow ties, anything. And Sarah was obviously laughing like mad. I couldn't help but giggle when they came out of their dressing rooms wearing two identical tuxedos, Sarah's one smaller of course. Everything that had happened in the last few years had suddenly disappeared, leaving me with a fluttery feeling inside.

After 8 hours of pure fun and happiness we decided to go home. Sarah was starting to get tired, and, if I had to be honest, I was exhausted too. My stomach was feeling funny, after so much laughing and butterflies (as Chase occasionally brushed his hand against mine while walking). We walked to Chase's car, and loaded a sleeping Sarah in the back of the car. There was silence, as we drove off, and I dared a look at was looking at the road, and I watched carefully as he shifted with his manual transmission. I wouldn't even be able to drive this car.

"I had fun today" I said, almost in a whisper. He dared a look at me, and smiled. One of those goofy Chase smiles again...

"Me too. We should do this more often"

"Yeah" And then I noticed we were driving out of the town, instead of going back home.

"Wait, where are you going? You should have turned right on Baker Street"

"I know. I wanted to show you something" He replied with a smile. He wanted to show me something in the suburbs?

He stopped a while later in front of a huge house in a, well, very wealthy part of the suburbs.

"Come on" He just said, got out of the car, and lifted sleeping Sarah into his arms. I followed him up the walkway and to the door, where he fiddled with a set of keys.

"Are you sure we're in the right place?" I said, as I looked around my self.

"yep" I turned and followed him inside. It was a wonderful house. Not the kind of look-at-how-rich-I-am house, it was the perfect combination of money and... home.

"Do you like it?" Chase asked me.

"You could say that! Who lives here?"

"Me" I looked at him. Was he kidding me?

"I bought it today. I thought I couldn't exactly live in a hotel forever, right? Plus the new book is really doing good to my bank account" he grinned."I'm just going to put Sarah to bed upstairs. I thought you guys could, you know, spend the night? You know how I am with living in new places..." That was true. Everytime Chase and the guys had to change room or dorm at PCA, he asked me to stay over the night. It was like he just didn't feel it like home, the first night. But well, we also were boyfriend and girlfriend at that time. Was he suggesting what I thought he was suggesting...?

He must have noticed my look, because he quickly corrected himself, and turned red as a tomato.

"I mean, of course I have a single room for you - not that I was suggesting anything" He was so cute when he rethought what he'd just said.

"I would love to, but I have no pajamas or anything here" But then he quickly cut me off.

"No worries, I thought of that, and bought you that nightgown you tried on today"

I just gave him an are-you-kidding-me look. I had tried that nightgown on for a joke, as we were trying on the most expensive things in the store.

"It looked good on you" and with that he went upstairs. Gosh this guy was wonderful.

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**Another chapter right here. **

**Hope you enjoyed, and remember, ****favorite and review!**

**~ValeSwiss94~**


	11. I'd sing for you

**Chase POV**

As I laid Sarah down in her bed (at least I hoped it would be hers one day) I couldn't help but notice, like always, how much she had from Zoey. Of course the curls were mine, but the color was Zoey's, just like her nose, her hands, everything. She was simply perfect. How could I have made such a mess with our relationship? It could have been so easy. I could have been the father Sarah had always needed. But no, I had to be an idiot and destroy everything, just because I was afraid of showing the girl of my dreams that I loved her. And right then, I promised myself I would never, ever, do this mistake again.

As I got back downstairs, Zoey was in the living room looking at the nightgown's pricetag. I quickly raced to her, ripped it off her hands, and sent it directly into the fireplace. The look on her face was priceless.

"It's a present, you shouldn't be looking at the price tag" I simply shrugged.

"Chase, it' s not my birthday. And until today I did not even know nightgowns could be that expensive and-"

"It's not a problem, Zoe. Really. Take it as an apology for the years I left you alone. I was an idiot, and had to make it up to you in some way. Not that I'm done with it. A nightgown can't replace a fatherhood"

Zoey just stood there, looking at me, with an indescribable look in her eyes. I didn't know what to do. Did I say the right thing? Did I screw up again?

"Plus, your next boyfriend will be thanking me. You look extremely sexy wearing that" Wait. What was I saying? Damn, Matthews, are you hitting on her? Really?

Next thing I knew, she was hugging me. I hugged her back, and noticed a small sob - great. I made her cry now.

"Oh, Zoe, I'm sorry, I didn't-"

"Thank you" she said. She was holding me tightly, as if I was going to leave her any moment. We stayed like that for a while. God, it felt good having her in my arms. She slowly calmed down and backed off, wiping tears out of her eyes.

"Sorry about this. I just... I guess it's been a while since someone's called me 'sexy' the last time" she laughed.

"You should be told that everyday" I replied. She just flinched away, covering her face with her hands.

"Damn, Chase, you really want to make me cry here, don't you?"

"Not at all... I'm just telling the truth"

She slowly wiped her eyes, trying her best to leave her makeup untouched. Then she just looked at me.

"You're so hard to understand, sometimes, Chase" I frowned. What did she mean? I was being even too clear on what (or who) I wanted right now...

"First you're a super sweet best friend. Then we sleep together, and you turn into an asshole. We lose touch and see each other again after 5 years, where you are sweet again, until you find out about Sarah and don't even talk to me anymore. Then, all of a sudden, you change again, and are sweet again? I mean, it's kind of confusing" she explained. Well, she was right. We'd had rough times.

"I'm sorry" I just said. What could I say?

She laughed a bit, still trying to wipe the tears away. An awkward silence followed, only interrupted by the sound of the fireplace.

"You really mean to buy this place" She finally said.

"I already closed the deal. It's mine" I said. I dared a look up from the carpet. She wasn't crying anymore.

"It's a big house" She stated.

"Yeah" I nodded. "A lot of empty rooms"

**Zoey POV**

Oh my God, was he implying what I thought he was implying?

"You know, I was thinking" Oh God. Oh God. "Sarah is growing up, and your apartment is starting to get a little cramped for you two" he said. He was looking at me, but I could tell he was nervous. What was I getting into?

"Well, it's never been much, but it's all I can afford with my current job" I spoke out, like a robot. Crap! Think, Zoey, think! Are you really sure about this?

"I know. So I thought... I've got a lot of space here.I'm home almost all day, since I'm a writer. You could give your career a second chance, if you guys came living over here"

"What do you mean?"

"I mean no more rushes, Sarah staying at daycare, you getting home exhausted and still having to cook... It would be easier for you"

"It would be more work for you" He shrugged.

"I love Sarah. I've lost so much time with her; it would be wonderful if you stayed here. Plus, it's a good excuse on taking a cooking class" He smirked.

Part of me wanted to giggle at his joke, but I just couldn't. I had to admit, it was a logical solution to many of our problems. I just wished there wasn't that thing, that feeling, holding me back, telling me to say no... But of course, Chase knew me way too well. I didn't realize that time was passing by as I thought about what he said, and he was getting very nervous. And you know Chase when he's nervous: he rantles on, trying to save the situation... mostly getting it worse.

"I... I'm not trying to get us romantically involved, I mean, if you want us to be like that it would be great - well, not great in a way I'm thinking about it - I just mean it would be easier for us to give Sarah a family. Again, not a family meaning that we..." This time I couldn't contain myself. I continued staring at him, while he rambled on about our relationship, about the house, our finances, landing over and over again on some romantic hints about us. "because I read on this blog that it is important for a family to live together, in a way were we wake up together in the morning... well, still, not in the same bed or" He had finally lifted his gaze from the ground, and noticed the smirk on my face.

"What?"

"You do realize you've been ranting for the past 5 minutes?" I said with a smile. He just let out a small laugh, and looked back up at me.

"Guess you make me nervous" I blushed. Still, I was smiling secretly at the compliment. This kind of flirtiness between us was killing me. One moment it seemed like he liked me, the other I was just a friend. I thought this stuff would end after highschool?

There was a moment of silence, and neither of us knew what to say. At last, I just went for a quick excuse on checking if Sarah was sleeping, and I slipped away. As I got upstairs I remembered I didn't even know which room she was sleeping in, but luckily evey door was open except for one. I entered the room, closed the door behind me, leaned against it and slowly let myself slide down to the floor. Who knew flirting could be so exhausting?

* * *

**Chapter up, chapter up!**

**I'm so sorry about not uploading anything last week, **

**but I'm in the middle of my exams and thigns are turning out a tiny bit stressful D:**

**Anyway, hope you enjoyed, and please review!**

**~ValeSwiss94~**


	12. In love for a while

**Chase POV**

I was an idiot. I was officially an idiot. I mean, the last 20 minutes would surely be a top part of the book "Ways not to tell a girl you like her". I made Zoey so uncomfortable she literally had to flee with an excuse. I was as charming as always.

I heard a door close upstairs, meaning she had found Sarah's room. I slowly walked back into the living room, noticing the nightgown still lying on the couch, along with Zoey's purse. She probably had no intention on coming back down, so I got both and left them just in front of Sarah's door. Then, all I could think of was a shower and a bed.

The next morning I woke up finding Sarah cuddled next to me in my bed. She must have crawled in here in the middle of the night. I got up, trying not to wake her up, and fixed the sheets on her. She could sleep a little longer, since it was sunday.

The second I opened my bedroom door a stunning smell of pancakes caught me. I walked like a zombie down the stairs, following the sweet scent all the way to the kitchen, where Zoey was quietly stirring what seemed and smelled like home made maple syrup. Next to her, a pile of buttery warm pancakes was already on a plate, just waiting for someone to eat them. I didn't even notice how I was slowly inching towards them, as I thought all those things. But somehow, a second later, Zoey sensed my presence and turned around, slapping my hand that was already going for the pancakes.

"No touchy! These are for everyone!"

Abruptly I fell out of my daydream, and finally processing the whole situation, I put on the best puppy face I could manage. Zoey just giggled, and went back to stirring.

"Plus, I know there's nothing I haven't already seen, but maybe you should go wear somehting" She added, a slight grin on her face. That was when I became aware that I was only wearing boxer shorts and blushed heavily.

"Just say you like it" I teased.

"I wouldn't ever admit that, now, would I?" She said, as I turned around. If it was possible, I blushed even more.

Fifteen minutes later, we were all gathered around the table, eating some freakingly delicious pancakes. My breakfast normally consisted in some cereal (if I was lucky enough to have some around) and a cup of coffee. I was trying to act at least decently, since Sarah was there as well, but it was hard to resist on just putting all the bacon, strawberries and pancakes right in my mouth like some kind of animal. I could see Zoey smirking lightly as she noticed how I was retaining myself.

"So, what have you guys planned for today?" I asked, trying to move the attention to antoher subject.

"It's Johanna's birthday!" Sarah said, grinning from ear to ear. Zoey smiled and shook her head, looking down at her pancakes, then back up at me.

"Apparently every party she throws is themed, and therefore awesome. Her parents are pretty... wealthy"

"You know what this years theme is? Pokemons!" Sarah enthusiastically said.

"Oh! And which Pokemon are you going to dress up as?" I asked.

"Mommy made me a Charmander costume" she responded grinning at Zoey.

"I see. The girl on fire, aren't you?" She smiled from ear to ear, continuing to eat her pancakes.

A while later, Zoey was dressing Sarah for the party, and I decided I would wash the dishes down. It was the least I could do, after those delicious pancakes. Zoey came back down the stairs, and announced she was bringing Sarah to the party. The costume Sarah was wearing was simply amazing. As Zoey got back, the dishes were all done and I was in the backyard typing furiously on my laptop. I guess Zoey's presence got my inspiration back, so I instantly took advantage of the moment.

"Chase?" I heard Zoey calling. She must have gotten back from the party.  
"In the backyard" I yelled. Soon enough, her head peeked out of the french window that lead to the garden.

"I just got back! And woah, this is a huge garden" she said, looking around.

"Yeah, it's great! Over there are some lawn chairs, if you want to enjoy the sun"

She seemed to think for a moment, and checked something in a backpack on her shoulder.

"You know, I might just do that! Be back in a sec!"

As she came back, I almost had a heart attack, as she was in a bikini and a towel. I surely wasn't hinting that when I invited her, but hell, I surely wasn't complaining. She grabbed a chair and placed it about 5 feet from where I was, right in the middle of a sunny area. By the time she laid down, I could practically feel the sweat dripping down my hands on the laptop.

"Ah, this is nice" she sighed contently.

Oh, you can say that! I thought. No, Matthews, no! I forced my self onto looking back down on my keyboard, but I couldn't help glancing at her from time to time. I never, ever, would have guessed this woman had a kid. Like, in, NEVER. My mind was racing into things I was trying to shut out of my brain. Aaand there goes my concentration for writing...

As I was mentally debating with myself, I didn't notice her watching me and grinning slightly. Especially at my pants.

"Hey Chase, you mind pouring me some of that lemonade you have there?" She asked. I wriggled awkwardly in my khaki shorts, as I poured her a glass of the stuff. Great, now I had to stand up. I wriggled again, begging she wasn't noticing, got up and made sure I came up behind her, so she couldn't look at me.

"H-here you go"

"Thank - you!" She said cheeringly. Grinning. She knew.

"Hey, I'm gonna go inside a moment - to get us some snacks?" I said.

"Yeah, that would be very nice" she replied. Still grinning, and blushing slightly. Crap.

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**Ok. I'm truly sorry about these delays. Sadly I'm in the middle of finals and also got a writers block.**

**Great, isn't it?**

**Anyways, hope you enjoyed this little chapter, and I hope I can get back to writing and posting as soon as I can!**

**Please review!**

**~ValeSwiss94~**


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